Governments brace for historic El Nino impacts on global weather extremes

Sri Lanka allocates $14m to fight severe drought, delivering 75 litres of water to families every two to three days.Published On 20 Aug 202620 Aug 2026Governments are preparing for heightened risks of drought, flooding, extreme heat and wildfires as a rapidly strengthening El Nino raises the prospect of a historic climate event later this year.Sri Lanka has arranged ⁠for water to be delivered to nearly 72,000 people across seven districts as the country tackles a drought linked to this year’s powerful El Nino, a ⁠senior official said on Thursday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Wildfires burn across Indonesia as officials cite El Nino as a causelist 2 of 3Indonesian officials race to contain wildfires as dozens of schools shutlist 3 of 3India’s severe monsoon season causes more than 100 deaths since Julyend of listWater levels at hundreds of small tanks in the country have dropped to about 10 percent. Families are expected to receive about 75 litres (20 gallons) of water every two to ‌three days for their drinking and sanitation needs during truck deliveries from parts of the country unaffected by the drought.The government has allocated 4.8 billion rupees ($14m) from ...